Question for those who are familiar with various book editions, etc.... the paper back copy of Headhunter I have is what I think is a 4th edition (the numbers sequence is listed as "4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3" and I think someone told me that the first number listed is what edition it was).... but my question is ~ who and when / why is it decided to change the cover art? Mine is different than what is shown. Just got me thinking about how many different versions of the cover art there are out there! Thanks!

I've been thinking about a comment a person made in the local paper several years ago: "suicide is basically an extremely selfish act."

I'm of a differing opinion as I believe that we are responsible first and foremost for our own life and if a person chooses to end their lifetime before natural causes bring about death then that is that person's right.

I think that Declerq's intentions to eat a bullet from his service revolver in that greenhouse were entirely within his rights to do so as a human being and it is only recently that I've read things on-line that have allowed me to articulate my reasoning further.

When someone has entered a state where they are so filled with despair, hopelessness and depression, their relationship to their family and other loved ones becomes different. People in such a state really truly believe sometimes that their family and community are better off without them, that they are a burden to those around them. Their state doesn't allow them to see alternatives.

Their actions may or may not cause emotional harm to those around them but if a person is so miserable that they cannot see a way to end their situation then they should not be made to feel even worse by being seen as 'selfish'.

I wish the media would report more on public service and charity news instead of gossip. It is of much greater value. - Jackie Chan

We don't ask to be born. It's thrust upon us. And if someone can't take the experience, why can't he/she check out? It all comes down to Free Will and what it means.

For those who are religious, there are other factors. My view is strictly Darwinian.

I recall lounging on a beach in Maui while reading Hemingway's FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS, and being struck by his earlier views on suicide in light of the fact he shot himself in the head in 1961.

This from Spark Notes:

Throughout For Whom the Bell Tolls, Hemingway characterizes suicide as an act of cowardice by associating it with characters who are vulnerable or lack strength of spirit. A number of characters contemplate suicide: Karkov always carries pills to use to kill himself if he is ever captured, and Maria carries around a razor blade for the same purpose. Robert Jordan’s father committed suicide—an act that Robert Jordan says he understands but nonetheless condemns. The traits of these characters who contemplate suicide connect the act of suicide to weakness. Robert Jordan’s father is characterized as weak, Maria is young and female, and Karkov is a man of ideas, not action. At the end of the novel, Robert Jordan contemplates suicide but rejects the idea, preferring to struggle to stay awake despite the pain. Robert Jordan’s reliance on inner strength in his rejection of suicide contrasts the other characters’ weakness, which demonstrates that the will to continue living requires psychological strength.

EZ Rhino wrote:People in such a state really truly believe sometimes that their family and community are better off without them, that they are a burden to those around them. Their state doesn't allow them to see alternatives.

EZ Rhino wrote:People in such a state really truly believe sometimes that their family and community are better off without them, that they are a burden to those around them. Their state doesn't allow them to see alternatives.

EZ Rhino wrote:People in such a state really truly believe sometimes that their family and community are better off without them, that they are a burden to those around them. Their state doesn't allow them to see alternatives.

I have been to many Military funerals where I have learned that this is exactly the case.

Ok i have read 294 pages so far, love the characters (especially 'Mad dog' because i am a Charles Bronson fan), love the history, love it all

I understand this is a spoiler board of sorts, i haven't read any of the other posts because i don't want it spoiling BUT something has been nagging at me...Spann...she seems familiar in some way, bear in mind i did read a couple of these books many years ago, whilst most i have forgot, her name is familiar...

Also should i be having any indication by now of who the killer is by now ? I know it's 'Sparky' but can't figure out 'who' it is.

Apologies for jabbering on a bit but Mr. Slade you have outdone your descriptive prowess in the passage i have just read in Headhunter, to quote -

"Her head was thrown back, swinging, her arms stretched up to grab the moon.Thump...She thrust forward her crotch.Black-grey hair, twisted and tangled, climbed halfway up the old woman's abdomen, spreading out like creeping vines from between her legs"

Hmm, just read past the part where the Headhunter has been taken out...

Obviously not seeing as i up to 'Part 3' now should i hazard a guess yet ? Red serge uniform fibres, a protagonist with a seemingly hostile afront towards Robert, a direct attack towards his 'family circle' which failed, (oh and the description of the weapon is interesting with the weighted edge for better decapitation) BUT no clues as to why Robert is being targeted, well, apart from leading the hunt, hmm...

Indeed i have Mr. Slade because unfortunately i decided to start reading the finale in bed and you know where you get to a point where you drift off, read, drift off, read and your mind loses some of it's clarity...

Well come this morning i am shocked to read that Sparky is GOING AFTER Al Flood, i was under the impression that the Headhuinter WAS Al Flood from what i read last night, now i either got Al's discoveries mixed up with Sparky's back story or it was one of your clever twist and turns...but then again Al saw somebody else with Genevieve in that restaurant so obviously it's not Al...

I have yet to read the epilogue but damn, Mr. Slade, you are the man, i have read a wide variety of book genres, from Alice in wonderland to The lord of the rings and i must say no book has fully engrossed me and kept me reading like this in a good long while, hats off to you

Now when it eventually arrives, Ghoul awaits...

(edit) why was Robert targeted in that way ? I understand the connection assuming Spann was the Headhunter but don't understand why seeing as the connection was nice, nothing that would incite revenge, i get the feeling i have missed something somewhere...?